Chief Financial Officer

Position Overview

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is the corporate officer of the non-profit that has the primary responsibility for managing the organization’s finances, including strategic financial planning, managing financial risks, financial and compliance record-keeping, audits, financial reporting to internal and external stakeholders, treasury management, and overseeing the finance and accounting teams.

The CFO reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer and Boards (Summit has 3 separate governing boards including a related Foundation). The CFO is an active and engaged member of Summit’s Leadership Team.

The ideal candidate has excellent finance, accounting, and communication skills (both written and verbal), has superb attention to detail, is a proven strategic partner, and is willing to roll up their sleeves and dive into the weeds when needed. Summit’s CFO is  devoted to allocating resources in education to serve a world class charter school management organization with an entrepreneurial incubator and its stakeholders.  Experience in working across multi-functional teams in a fast paced work environment is a must! 

Who We Are:

What if all students graduated high school with the knowledge, skills and habits they need to lead a fulfilled life?  This is the question that guides our mission at Summit Public Schools. 

Summit is a leading network of public schools that prepare a diverse student population for success in a four-year college and to be thoughtful, contributing members of society. We operate 14 schools serving over 4,000 students in the Bay Area and Washington state. Historically, 98 percent of Summit graduates are accepted to four-year colleges with Summit graduates complete college at double the national average.

We need exceptional, diverse, and mission-aligned leaders to join our team to help prepare our students for a fulfilled life. Join us!

What You’ll Do:

Financial Leadership 

• Serve as a senior leader setting and executing the vision and mission of a world-class charter management organization and entrepreneurial incubator.

• Work with the CEO, finance and audit committees to develop and implement a long-term financial strategy to protect all assets of the organization.

• Prepare reports and present financial results to Summit’s boards and other stakeholders.

• Work closely with Summit’s development team to support grant applications, philanthropy based program expenses and reporting.

• Manage Summit’s treasury assets to ensure safety and liquidity.

• Lead Summit’s capital market activities including meeting bond disclosure and other investor related filings.

• Lead the development and implementation of all annual program budgets for a $97 million organization.

• Lead the development of long-term financial models for different programs within Summit’s organizational umbrella.

• Develop and oversee the implementation of Summit’s financial policies, procedures, and systems to ensure compliance with all local, state, and federal regulations.

• Ensure sufficient working capital is available for all programming.

People Management

• Report directly to the CEO and oversee a team of 8 staff positions.

• Attract, develop and retain a skilled team of accounting and finance professionals.

• Develop and implement anti-bias, anti-racist policies and practices by identifying and interupting racist practices in your own work and spheres of influence.

• Foster positive, rewarding relationships with school and community leaders to maximize the benefits of available resources.

• Support team members and leaders on other teams relating to budget, finance, and grant reporting.

• Be known as a problem solver and resource.

Communications 

• Lead all board and subcommittee meetings related to the organization’s finances.

• Communicate effectively with stakeholders with varying levels of financial literacy.

What You Need:

Key Qualities and Skills 

• Commitment to uphold Summit’s values, belief that all children deserve a rigorous and equitable education that prepares them for college and for life

• Bachelor’s Degree (a Master’s Degree in Business or Finance is preferred) 

• Minimum of 5 years experience as a Chief Financial Officer or other Senior Finance Leader in a fast paced educational environment. 

• Knowledge of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) under Financial Accounting Standards (FASB) and Government Accounting Standards (GASB)
• Experience in a multi-site, multi-state organization.

• Proficiency in NetSuite or other comprehensive accounting systems. 

• Experience with Google Platforms, including Google Drive, Google Sheets, Google Docs, and Google Slides preferred. 

• Clear TB test and background check

Who You Are:

About You  

• You have an exceptional knowledge of accounting, finance, capital markets and treasury management.
• You maintain high expectations for all staff and students and believe all students can find success in school, college, and life.
• You thrive while collaborating and are excited to work with your colleagues. You find positivity in shared successes. 
• You’re deeply dedicated to social justice and feel motivated by the challenge and impact of working in a heterogenous community and closing the achievement gap.
• You share our vision to reimagine what schools should be and are excited to make an impact on the public education landscape. 
• You are positive and resilient in the face of challenges. 
• You possess strong people management skills, with the ability to motivate, inspire, develop, and collaborate with a diverse group of teachers, leaders, staff members, and community members.
• You have an ability to apply honest, actionable, and timely feedback that results in improved performance.
• You are empathetic and culturally competent. You’re open to having hard conversations.
• You have a high degree of integrity, maturity and good judgement.
• You thrive in innovative environments, and are comfortable with the ambiguity that can come with a dynamic and progressive workplace.
• You’re committed to continuous improvement, see feedback as a positive, and have a growth mindset.

What you get:

Summit offers competitive salaries and benefit options for full-time employees, including covering 75% of the health, dental and vision premiums. We fully cover life and disability insurance. We have a “take what you need” PTO policy, 11 paid holidays, and 3 week-long organizational closures during the year. 

We strive to recruit a diverse team. Summit is an equal opportunity employer. We believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion are directly intertwined with education. We are ALL better when we are able to bring our whole selves to work and honor each other’s voices across identities, cultural backgrounds, and life experiences. Social injustice disproportionately hurts the most marginalized people in society — including people of color, people with disabilities, people from working class backgrounds, women and LGBTQ people. We believe that these communities must be centered in the work we do. Hence, we strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or who are members of other marginalized communities.